A forum for members who haven't stopped moving just because they've produced another human being. Share ideas and information, the best and worst places to bring the kids, family travel tips and parenting stories.

Planning a RTW trip with my 3 children

I am thrilled that there are so many folks out there that have the travel (vs. tourist!) bug and want to throw that into the mix of life learning with their children. I am in the initial planning phase of a 6 mth. RTW trip with my 3 children. We are all very excited about it but I have some(actually lots of)questions. But first some background. I have done some international traveling using hostels as my home; 9 months in Europe and 3 months in Australia. I have traveled individually with each of the kids to expose them to traveling in various locations. They will be 16, 14, and 12 at the time of the trip. We are planning on a 6 mth trip. Now for the questions:

1. Will I meet other families staying in Hostels?2. Other than general safety rules (no back alleys after dark, etc) are there any safety precautions I should be considering?(any high rates of kidnapping type of stuff?)3. Do I need travel insurance if I have good health care insurance in the states?4. Is it safe for just Mom to take the kids?5. Do I need a letter from their father to travel in and out of the various countries?6. Any thing specific I should look into or consider?

Congrats on your plans!! Kudos to Dad for being willing to hold down the fort at home! Here are some of my opinions on your questions:

1. Will I meet other families staying in Hostels?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. We ran into lots of couples of all ages and some with children. For the most part, though, everyone was fascinated with our kids and very supportive. In Oz, the younger party crowd kind of looked at us funny and some hostels were downright hostile. We had a better experience with the caravan parks there.You could also consider doing homestays/farmstays or WWOOFing if you want to meet other families.

2. Other than general safety rules (no back alleys after dark, etc) are there any safety precautions I should be considering?(any high rates of kidnapping type of stuff?)

I think this really depends on where you travel. Since your kids are older than mine, you'll want to make sure they're very streetsmart and reinforce that they're not in Washington anymore. It's good that they've all traveled before and aren't afraid of the unknown. I would recommend that you do your homework on any country you plan to visit and check for travel advisories before going.

3. Do I need travel insurance if I have good health care insurance in the states?

You absolutely need good travel insurance because you certainly don't want to be stranded waiting for some bureaucrat to rescue you. If you or your kids are sick or injured, with one phone call a good insurance policy will save your bacon. It also covers all kinds of things like trip interruption, evacuation, lost luggage, etc. Definitely worth looking into.

4. Is it safe for just Mom to take the kids?

I don't see why not. You may not want to make it public knowledge that there's no alpha male traveling with you though.

5. Do I need a letter from their father to travel in and out of the various countries?

I would say that would be a very wise thing to do.

6. Any thing specific I should look into or consider?

Make sure you go to a good travel medicine clinic to find out exactly which immunizations you'll need (start sooner rather than later because some require a series of shots over 6 months).

You'll also want to carry copies of all your travel documents and/or scan them and send them to yourself via email. Carry several passport sized photos of each of you for visas and permits - they come in handy.

That is fantastic , you will all love it and be so glad that you made this decision. I agree with kidnall's response as she said it well. ( I can not comment on the vaccine issue as we have not done any so far and I am still researching that choice for us).

And I highly recommend looking into this as it is a lifesaver ( according to friends who had to deal with emergencies in bad places):http://www.tenweb.com/

Enjoy your prep ( let the kids help and read, read , read to make it richer) and enjoy your trip!!

We are big fans of exofficio type clothes and find them worth thier weight in gold ( need less) and found them mostly on sale. We looove our one pair each of smart wool socks for warm and cold weather.

I would look into RVing possibly like that family from France ( link in hostel thread) as it is a great way to travel with kids and you almost always find other families as you go.Do a blog as you go. ( I would take a laptop too).

Thanks for the response. I have been reading up on several correspondence between ya'll and I just get more and more excited to go. I am starting to think that 6 mths is not enough.....either that or I will just have to be in the mind set that this is the first step to more and similar future travel adventures. WT, I looked into the web links that you provided and they were VERY helpful. With regards to Europe travel mode (RV).....Europe will be the place we spend the least amount of time due to the cost and also it is a place that I believe my kids will visit on there own (or as graduation gifts. Kidsnall, thank you for some answers that I have been stewing about that are unique to traveling with children. Reading up on how things are going with all or you (I have been reading writings from "go girl, and Mannyatkins" as well. It is refreshing to know that there are folks out there letting the next generation learn some really valuable info about this world!!!!!!

Who is online

PLEASE NOTE: Your original BootsnAll Boards Member login still works by logging in below on the Boards.
We have a new BootsnAll Account that you will start seeing around the BootsnAll Travel Network. This new login is not yet linked to your current Boards Account. In the meantime, you will need to sign up (for a BootsnAll Account) to use Account features like Indie  , Traveler Profiles etc.